Monday, April 13, 2009

Yes, this is another blog about pets! I wrote it many, many years ago now, but the Easter season brought it to my memory, and so I share it with you today.

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Echo was such a cat. That's what I always told him. He was built like an athlete. Long legs, long body, long tail. Everything about him was long. And sleek, with muscles that were sculpted for leaping tall bookshelves in a single bound. Which is exactly what he did, whenever he had an audience to cheer and admire his incredible dexterity. His propensity for jumping from the bookshelf to the pendulum wall clock, however, became more heart-stopping than amusing, as the clock tended to "swing" ominously beneath his weight. The only way to discourage his mischievous tricks (he usually looked over his shoulder to be sure someone was watching before he hurtled himself through the air at the clock) was to leave the room as soon as you saw him eyeing the bookshelf. 'Ere long, he would come trotting out after you.

This handsome silver tabby, with a wide, black "bullseye" patterned on each of his well-fed sides, loved his cat life with a passion I have seen in few of his feline fellows. Weighing a good 15 pounds ("I see you're raising mountain lions at your house," the vet would say when I took Echo in for his yearly shots), he was not content with the normal cat habits of eating and sleeping, eating and sleeping. He was a regular jogger. Seldom found sauntering through the house like his sister, Circe, he preferred a brisk trot to propel him from one place to another in our house. As a kitten, he delighted in crawling up inside of lamps, maneuvering himself inside our baby grand piano, and generally wedging himself into any tight, uncomfortable, commonly inaccessible space, merely, I'm sure, to prove it could be done after all.

Although many of these spaces did, indeed, become inaccessible after he finally stopped growing at 15 pounds, he never lost what I can only describe as a sheer enthusiasm for being alive. Then one day, as I was admiring the bright calculation in his face as he considered some new "adventure" in our house, it struck me: "This cat is excited to finally have a body!"

We are taught that we all lived as spirit children of Heavenly Parents before we were sent to this earth, and that one of the most important parts of this earth life is an opportunity for each of us to gain a body. The Lord, after revealing the creation of the earth, including that of both beasts and man to Moses, said to the prophet, "For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth." (Moses 2:5) Then surely, if I existed as a spirit in the pre-mortal life, Echo's cat spirit existed, too?

A little study confirmed this fact. When the Prophet Joseph Smith inquired of the Lord what the meaning was of the four beasts that John the Revelator saw in Revelation 4:6, the Lord explained, "They are figurative expressions, used by the Revelator, John, in describing the paradise of God, the happiness of man, and of beasts, and of creeping things, and of the fowls of the air; that which is spiritual being in the likeness of that which is temporal; and that which is temporal in the likeness of that which is spiritual; the spirit of man in the likeness of his person, and every other creature which God has created." (D&C 77:2, italics added)

The fact that cats and other animals existed in spirit form in the pre-existence was not entirely new to me. Common sense and occasional gospel teachings on the subject had enlightened me on that matter. But the idea that a body might be a new and exciting thing to an animal, just as it is to a child . . . I had simply never considered that thought before. Watching Echo's delight in testing and stretching the limits of his body took on a whole new dimension for me. I began to watch him in wonder, and furthermore, I sometimes felt a little guilty for taking my own body so much for granted. Too frequently, I have failed to appreciate the unique and wonderful things I can do because I have a body. Yet here, this small, energetic little animal appeared uniquely happy in his sphere of life every single day, thanks to a mortal body that gave him so much joy.

Latter-day prophets teach us that animals can, and do, indeed, rejoice in living upon this earth. President Joseph Fielding Smith said, "Moreover, were not all creatures commanded to be happy in their spheres at least by implication if not by word? What a dreary world this would be should all life in the heavens above, on the earth, or in the sea be removed? What is more joyful to the ear than the voice of the robin on an early spring morning as he sings his song? The voice of the thrush, the meadow lark, even the bark of a friendly dog, each of them expressing their joy for their existence?" (Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol.4, p.44)

Another time, President Smith commented, "The Lord gave life to every creature, both the birds in the heavens, beasts on the earth, and the fishes in the streams or seas. They also were commanded to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. It was intended that all creatures should be happy in their several elements." (Answers to Gospel Questions, Vol. 4, p. 43)

Echo truly was a happy cat. He left this mortal life much too soon for me, a mere six years old. That's young for a cat. He appeared to pass peacefully, if mysteriously, in his sleep one day. Yes, I wept to lose him. The loss of so much energy, so much curiosity and precosiousness left a lonely vacuum in our home. But if the scriptures offered enlightenment about his pre-earth and mortal life, they also give hope for the future. In speaking of the day of resurrection, the Lord has said:

"For all old things shall pass away, and all things shall become new, even the heaven and the earth, and all the fulness thereof, both men and beasts, the fowls of the air, and the fishes of the sea; And not one hair, neither mote, shall be lost, for it is the workmanship of mine hand." (D&C 29:24-25, italics added) When I see Echo again, I believe it will be with those same distinctive bullseyes on his sides.

If the Lord notes even the fall of the sparrow (Matt. 10:29), then surely he knew both of Echo's passing and of my sadness to lose him.

As humbled as I had been by one small cat's appreciation for the body the Lord had given him, I continue in gratitude and awe for the infinite vastness, inclusiveness, and love made manifest by the Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection with its accompanying promise that we, too, both man and beast, shall rise again, "[Our] sleeping dust . . . to be restored unto its perfect frame, bone to [our] bone, and the sinews and the flesh upon them, the spirit and the body to be united never again to be divided, that [we] might receive a fulness of joy." (D&C 138:17)

Perhaps, for now, Echo is anxiously awaiting that day, "look[ing] upon the long absence of [his] spirit from his bod[y] as a bondage." (D&C 138:50) But one day, he, like I, will receive our bodies again. In that day when "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw . . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord." (Isaiah 65:25)

With the Millennium come, the world at peace, and death finally conquered for man and beast alike . . . oh! what adventures Echo will have before him then.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Have you ever wanted a medieval banner of your very own? C’mon, let’s be honest. Who hasn’t?

Well, here’s your opportunity to win such a banner! This time round, I’m holding a drawing especially for those who have read my medieval novel, Loyalty’s Web. The heraldic emblem of my heroine Heléne’s family is the double-headed phoenix. During the course of the story, Heléne uses a banner bearing this insignia to escape from a man who has her cornered in a room in her father’s castle.

The prize for this drawing: A replica of the double-headed phoenix banner (see right). This banner is approximately 20.5 inches wide and 47 inches in length. (A little smaller than the banner in my story, but still very cool!) I hung it on my bedroom door for display purposes to take a photo, but I have tucked it away once more to keep it clean and dust free for the winner.

How can you win this beautiful banner for yourself? Read Loyalty’s Web (if you haven’t already) and answer the question: How does Heléne use this banner to escape from the man who is barring her way?

Send the answer to jdipastena@yahoo.com no later than midnight May 31st. That will give anyone who has not yet read Loyalty’s Web time to find a copy and read it. (Check it out from the library, borrow it from a friend...or, of course, you can buy a copy at Deseret Book or order one from Amazon or DeseretBook.com.

Please be sure to include your name and mailing address, and to type: “Loyalty’s Web-site Drawing” in the subject line of your email.

The winner will be announced June 1st. So get thee to thy reading! I look forward to your entries!

(And don't forget to scroll down the left side of my page and vote in my "Would You Follow Me on Twitter" poll.)

Monday, April 6, 2009

Loyalty's Web has enjoyed a small whirlwind of publicity on the internet lately. If you haven't already seen them, you can read two author interviews, one with C.S. Bezas and another with MyFavoriteAuthor.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

So, should I give Twitter a try? Would anyone seriously be interested in anything I might have to Twitter about? Please help me out by voting in my Twitter poll! You'll find it just under all my links on the left side of the page, and just above my Shelfari shelf. I'm leaving the voting open for one month, at the end of which time the majority will rule!

And since I'm new to the whole concept of Twittering, if you vote "Yes", I'd love you to leave a comment on this post and tell me what you'd be most interested in having my Twitter about. Feel free to sign in and comment as Anonymous, if you're more comfortable that way.

I have a link on my Yahoo homepage called “The Daily Kitten”, where they post a “new kitten every day…at 3:07 pm”. Being a cat lover, I’ve been following this daily link for several years. People from all over the world post pictures of their kittens (always adorable, of course…is there any other kind?), along with a short commentary that shares how the kitten became part of their family or something unique about their kitten. They may look identical on the outside at times, but like snowflakes, it quickly becomes clear, as their “people” share their personality quirks, that no two kittens are truly alike.

What touches me the most is how each of these short commentaries invariably ends with some form of the following statement: “He is still my baby boy and the love of our lives!!” “He has just made our home happier.” “They bring us hours of enjoyment.” “We love her so much!”

I’m sure that somewhere on the internet is a similar website for puppies. Just last Sunday, I visited a woman in our ward and observed her joy in a new dog her married daughter had recently given to her and her husband. Even I, the cat lover, came home with memories of the dog, repeating over and over, “What a doll! What a doll!”I have two cats of my own, no longer kittens, but I still echo the words above from the Daily Kitten. “He is still my baby boy!” “He has made my home happier.” “They bring me hours of enjoyment.” “I love her so much!” And I never let a morning or nightly prayer pass, that I don’t thank my Heavenly Father for the gift of their love and comfort and for the joy they bring into my life every day.

A few weeks ago, on Music and the Spoken Word, I listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing:

All things bright and beautiful,All creatures great and small.All things wise and wonderful,The Lord God made them all.

How grateful I am that among these creatures, “great and small”, He has graced our human lives with the opportunity to live in loving companionship with some of his “bright and beautiful” creations!

About Me

Joyce DiPastena fell in love with the Middle Ages when she first read Thomas B. Costain’s THE CONQUERING FAMILY in high school. A graduate of the University of Arizona with a degree specializing in medieval history, she is a multi-published, multi-award winning author. She specializes in sweet medieval romances heavily spiced with mystery and adventure.
Joyce lives in Arizona with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov

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"As an inspiration to the author, I do not think the cat can be over-estimated. He suggests so much grace, power, beauty, motion, mysticism. I do not wonder that many writers love cats; I am only surprised that all do not." ~ Carl Can Vechten